Williams in trial with a former employee
The former marketing manager of Williams has filed a lawsuit against the team and its owner Dorilton Capital for 100 million dollars. She accuses the team of trying to harm her reputation. On their part, Williams has retaliated with their own accusations.
While the drivers and teams in the Formula 1 paddock are enjoying their summer break to recharge and work, the Williams team finds itself in a situation it would rather avoid. The Sunday Times has revealed that the team is at the center of a lawsuit with a former employee of the organization.
Claudia Schwarz, marketing manager at Williams from January to December 2022, has filed a $100 million lawsuit against her former company, claiming that they attempted to ruin her reputation by disclosing to the press information regarding an alleged affair she had with Darren Fultz, the CEO of investment fund Dorilton Capital, who is the owner of Williams Racing.
Towards a legal battle?
If Schwarz denies these accusations, the team has responded with its own complaint, amounting to 6.9 million dollars. Williams, on the other hand, accuses the former marketing manager of involving her own husband to award contracts to suppliers with whom she had connections in order to overcharge Williams over a period of over one year. In this regard, she allegedly entered into a relationship with Fultz to have him approve inaccurate and highly inflated invoices, as well as inappropriate credit card charges.
« We believe that these statements were made in a calculated effort to avoid contractual obligations and to put pressure on Schwarz», said the lawyer for the German, who accuses Williams of discreetly dismissing her without paying her salary as agreed.
A complex issue, therefore, in which the 7th-ranked team in the current constructors’ world championship could lose time and money.
